PARKERSBURG– Parkersburg South High attempted only five free-throws in its season opener. Even so, the Patriots were still a handful for the visiting Blue Ridge Barons before falling, 72-68, in boys’ basketball action Friday night in the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Parkersburg East, Classic at the Rod Oldham Athletic Center. “That’s as good a team that has been in here since I’ve been here that we’ve played against,” said PSHS head coach Mike Fallon. “It was one of those things coming in, and everybody said we were going to get beat by 20-25 points. But we knew what we had to do, and we gave ourselves a chance there. We just ran out of minutes.” South (0-1) was paced by Seth Fallon’s 18 points,7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Malaki Sylvia added 12 points and 3 steals, while Alex Woolard and Brayden Mooney had 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Jake Dennis chipped in with 8 points, and Dylan Day netted 6. The Patriots actually had more field goals (29) than the Barons (24). Blue Ridge, a boarding school from Virginia, was led by William Lee’s game-high 24 points. Michael Gray and Chris Rogers added 17 points apiece. The Barons attempted 20 foul shots and converted 14. “That number 11 (Gray), he’s got offers from Virginia Tech and a few other places — and he’s pretty good,” Mike Fallon said. During the contest, there were eight lead changes and five ties. South’s biggest lead was five, and Blue Ridge’s was 10. Sparked by Lee’s 10 first-quarter points, BR staked itself to a 21-20 advantage. Early on the Barons had a 16-6 lead, but that was erased by three straight Seth Fallon triples. In the second quarter, South caught and tied Blue Ridge at 24-all on Woolard’s jumper. Then, the Patriots took a three-point lead on Dennis’ 3. The Barons regained the advantage, and had a one-point lead with time winding down. Just before the halftime buzzer sounded, Gray stole the ball underneath the basket and laid it in to give BR a 3-point cushion at the intermission. Gray, a non-starter, finished the quarter with 10 points. “At the end of the second quarter and the third, we had a couple of little fumbles and mistakes that kind of came back to bite us,” Mike Fallon said. “We let that kid open for that 3, and we lost that one (under the basket) before the half and they lay it in.” In the third quarter, Seth Fallon, Sylvia, Woolard, and Mooney combined for 20 points, and the Patriots had a 3-point lead in the closing seconds. But that was erased by Lee’s trifecta from the left corner, which knotted the score at 55-all. Early in the fourth, Blue Ridge scored the first four points, and never looked back. South stayed close but never regained the lead. “I really think by the end of the year, this group, if it keeps working, is going to be pretty darn good before it’s over,” Mike Fallon said.